Mephiles Sol
Mephiles (Pronounced Meh-fuh-liss) is an extraordinarily powerful wight and self-proclaimed “God of the Unliving”. Born as Talkur, he was killed during the Early Fremennik Daemonheim campaigns, only to be converted into a wight known as Mephiles, in the service of Necromancer Fer ‘Ireth and his order, Immortues. Breaking free from his servitude across the last century of the Fifth Age, Mephiles uses the new art of Divination on the Well of Life to augment himself and his spellcasting abilities to extraordinary lengths. In desperation to prevent Fer’s scheme of ‘destroying death itself’, which had already obliterated his soul’s ability to pass into the afterlife, Mephiles' declared a new paradigm of the order and enacted a Dark Schism between the two, culminating in a vicious battle on Freneskae that resulted in Fer's apparent demise and his regeneration into a simulacrum body. Having returned to Gielnior in the wake of Tuska, Mephiles found himself in conflict with the Godless Faction and its associates as he attempted to establish a twisted dogma across the western world. However, this would eventually fail as his addition to the well's side-effects consumed him, seeing Mephiles sent into self-exile. Timeline 'Early Life' Talkur was born in the 132nd year of the Fifth Age in the Fremennik Isles, during the height of the war between the Fremennik Clans and Kingdoms against the Moon Clan. Only weeks after being born, his parents are killed in a surprise attack by the Moon Clan, as well as separated from his brother Balkor. They would never see eachother again when taken back to Rellekka to be given a new home. While growing up within the nomadic community, Talkur developed as a sheltered and shy boy who would be willing to fight if provoked. He often ventured around the settlement, playing with wooden shields and swords with the other boys. Aged 14, his adoptive father began to take him on basic hunting trips, as well as an attempt to bond. He would be ambushed by a pair of dire wolves during one such trip, and believing he was about to be eaten, cried out. A primal instinct activated, which slaughtered the wolves with one hellish screech. He had discovered that during the battle as a baby, his new-born body had absorbed some of the runic energy extruded from the spellcasting of the Moon Clan, and now could utilise it to cast basic spells without runestones. Talkur was put forward to the Chieftain of the village by his own Father, who cowardly claimed that he had been planted by the Moon Clan as a weapon. The Chieftain dismissed the allegation that he was a weapon, but was obliged to rule that the young boy had used magic, and worst still, that had originated from their sworn enemies. Talkur was sentenced to exile from the Fremennik Province and the isles, as well has having his birth name declared invalid. Thence forth, Talkur was branded as “Mephiles” by all Fremenniks: A derogative title for exiled spellcasters. 'Banishment' Without anything to his name apart from his clothes and a small satchel of supplies his adoptive mother gave in mercy, he traveled to East Ardougne to get a job of some kind. Mephiles found himself in a poorly-page job as an errand boy for the palace, being sent to and from the port near Witchaven for the latest imports of meats, fine wine and spices that the royals consumed. The hours where long and the pay poor, but food and bed was guaranteed. Mephiles endured with the position until he was 17, building up a small fund with whatever he had spare. With those years, Mephiles had accepted his exile name and decided he wanted to learn how to cast magic, concluding he would have to return to the source of his unwanted powers to understand how to control it: the Moon Clan. During a frigid night, Mephiles trekked back to the province under a heavy cloak, and snuck past the walls by wading along the port. Ambushing Lokar, Mephiles bribed the ferryman to not alert the guards, and then convinced him with a larger bribe to take him to the pirate outcove in the isles. From there he paid the captain on a smuggling ship to sail him to Lunar Isle. 'Trials of the Moon Clan' Upon arrival, Mephiles and the crew where subjugated to an ambush by the clan, who had predicted their arrival and restrained him, then brought before the war council of the Moon Clan. Presided by an Oneiromancer, Mephiles was accused of being an agent of the Fremennik and sent to the jails while they debated on what to do. In secret, the Oneiromancer had his jailers plant charms in his cell to probe his thoughts and intentions. Three days alone, cold and with no sustenance, Mephiles was dragged from the cells and into the central hall, where much of the island’s population had gattered, along with the war council and the Oneiromancer herself. Against what little resistance he had left, they adorned him in Suqah robes and propped him up with a decorative drayman staff, before lighting the brazier in the centre with a strange mixture of wood and portents that smelled potently sweet. The mixture intoxicated Mephiles, subjugating himself into a dream state that was suggestable by the Lunar Clan in the hall. While his physical self was being publically interrogated without the ability to deceive or restrain himself, his mind was being subjugated to torments of the past: Visions of the battle that claimed his birthparents, twisted versions of his adoptive family and the Fremennik villagers, taunting him as being a freak of nature. However despite this, Mephiles stood his ground and fought back, mentally unlocking his power and began firing bolts of earth and fire to dissolve his fears. With all of them vanquished, it all faded into darkness. Waking up from the dream state, The Oneiromancer approached him and helped him to his feet. The Omeiromancer smirked and explained that he had passed the trials that a Moon Clansman must undertake, and that his training would start soon if he wanted to do so. Mephiles graciously accepted, though mildly disorientated from the after effects of the trials. 'Time in the Moon Clan' Mephiles spent many months adjusting to strict regime and unfamiliar customs of his new clan, but embraced the tuition on magic, runecrafting and the control of his birthpower. The Oneiromancer spent time investigating how he acquired such power, drawing no conclusions. Mephiles eventually settled down and lived with the clan for seven years, mastering his abilities and forming a romantic affair with fellow student Elise. On occasion Mephiles would gather rare Cobalt Roses from a nearby outcrop and send them to her as a romantic gift. It would tragically be cut short. Breakdowns in the negotiations between the Fremennik and the Moon Clan culminated on a beachside assault on Lunar Isle in the Year 164 of the Fifth Age. Mephiles was called to arms alongside the entire male population. The Fremennik outnumbered the clan five to one, overcoming the Moon Clan’s advantage of using magic, decimated their ranks. As the women sealed the village with a magical barrier, Mephiles and a troupe of six battle mages where subdued by a whole squadron of axe-wielding barbarians, ending up captured unconscious. Mephiles spent the next few days imprisoned on a longboat alongside his fellow mages, subdued by strong herbal concoctions and alcohol before reaching Relekkia. He and his men where paraded through the streets as prisoners of war, jeered and taunted by former ilk. They were taken for swift public execution or the warcamps, while Mephiles was escorted to the longhall. Thrown before the Chieftain, his sword was thrusted to the edge of Mephiles’ neck, along with two spears prodding from the jailers on either side of him. A list of charges was declared before him, too many to count. The most prevalent where obvious: Being a Moon Clansman, Runecrafting, Sedition and returning from exile. Mephiles protested briefly before the guards slammed him into the floor. The Chieftain revealed that sentence had already been decided by the clan’s elders and himself. Mephiles expected nothing more than the undignified display of a public execution. Instead they condemned him to slavery, bound to a band of explorers who where to go and explore an ancient, ruined castle on an icy peninsula east of the Wilderness: Daemonheim. 'Death at Daemonheim' Mephiles was transported to Daemonheim alongside other prisoners some weeks after sentencing, bound in both chains and rope. He had been selected into the service of a small division of some the Fremennik’s bravest, whom themselves had also brought their Serfs: people who were their legal property, but had limited rights and given an allowance to live off. A third of the prisoners and serfs would be killed when traversing the bandit-ridden Wilderness to the peninsula. After a night’s rest within the ruined castle, everyone was divided up into smaller parties. Each consisted of three leading explorer, a serif and a prisoner. Mephiles’ group would be an exception from the odd number of serif that made the trip alive. The gap was filled by another prisoner: a seer whom had been accused of teaching magic to Fremennik children using runestones. The pair shared a strong distain for the handlers they had been assigned to: Three brutes of limited intelligence and completely ignorant of magic. Kept on chokers tied to their handlers, the group descended into Daemonheim through a narrow shaft that had been cut out from a pillar. It would be the last time any of them would see the sunlight alive. Months passed as they descended though the varied layers that had been constructed, slaying creatures and harvesting the alien materials for equipment. Mephiles and the Seer would develop into close comrades, despite the handler’s objection: to them, they were only alive to serve them with food, drink and labour. Progress slowed to a crawl when the group probed the Occult floors. Necromancers had summoned clusters of the undead, supported by flurries of creatures from unknown plains, bringing disease. Infections brought two handlers and the only serif to death’s door, inciting talk of retreating back to the surface. Mephiles posed the idea that himself and the seer, who had a strong understanding of magic, should lead on and mitigate any further casualties. The last of their handlers snapped at the suggestion and attempted to crush them with her massive maul. The seer leapt into action, activating a blastbox he had smuggled downwards to disintegrate their chains. Free to dodge the attack, Mephiles snatched a pile of runes on a nearby table and incinerated her with a fire blast. The heat of the moment then drove him to murder, using a rapier taken from an ill handler to slit him, his partner and the serif. Mephiles declared he had no home left to return to, having assumed the Moon Clan had been decimated, wanting to continue down through Daemonheim. The Seer reluctantly joined him with the belief that a return to the surface by himself would see himself killed or enslaved again. The pair scavenged the equipment from the bodies and continued. More months passed, where descending further also expanded their knowledge and skillsets. Herblore, Runecrafting and Summoning where greatly focused on. The Seer spent time teaching Mephiles what offensive techniques he knew in their restbites. The pair then broke though into the Warped floors, where the background energies enhanced Mephiles casting ability beyond normal human limits. It would however not save him. The pair persistently heard voices within their heads across the levels, eroding their spirits and morale. The Seer broke after only a week and turned against his only friend in a fit of insanity, taking a Katagon dagger and piercing Mephiles’ abdomen from behind. Bleeding badly and under attack he could only retreat into a corner to deflect spells back. The agony allowed the warped whispers into his psyche, compelling him to draw his rapier and impale his best friend through the neck. Tending the wound in an abandoned mess hall, Mephiles could only sit and weep. Despair and pain drove the lone battlemage though his final days. Polluting the body with abhorrently strong potions did little at that point, making infection under his crude wrappings a certainty. Everything just mixed into a violent blur of bloodlust and insane voices, where all burnt alive by his hands, with his only conscious thought was when he would discover what lied beneath Daemonheim. His life ended on Floor 58 when confronted by the World-gorger Shukarhazh. Mephiles’ body simply failed at this moment, leaving him a ragdoll. Its tentacles slammed him across the chamber and painted them with blood. A tentacle through the chest was the killing blow. The corpse was disposed through the doors, where carnivorous plant life encroached it for sustenance and preserved it for later consumption. Three months passed until necromancers discovered the body, looted the equipment and hauled it back to the occult levels for study. Before a dissection could be arranged, a robed easterner approached the Necromancers and bought the bodies in bulk at a premium. He had them dragged back to the surface, where they would be carted into the Kharidian Desert. 'Resurrection' Mephiles’ corpse, alongside many others from various sources, was delivered to the Ruins of Uzer, where skeletons dragged them into the hidden Immortues Sanctum: A hidden sanctuary that surivied the destruction of Uzer during the God Wars, then repurposed by the necromancers of the Immortues. The corpses where preserved with herbs and bonemeal at the mortuary. Seven days later, the robed easterner that had purchased them, inspected each one of them. Dismissing almost all of them, two of them drew interest: Mephiles, who radiated raw magical energy, and a Varrocian who radiated energy in pulses. The pair of them were taken to the main chamber, presented to the easterner; now in necromancer robes. Mephiles corpse was dragged into the centre by three shades, where then the ritual began. Sacrificing the shades, the necromancer reanimated Mephiles as a Wright. While his new master, Fer’ Ireth, introduced himself he struggled to regain his mind. While bursting with intense magical energy and a preserved physique, Mephiles’ mind was sluggish, disorientated and child-like from the resurrection. Fer quickly dismissed him as a failure and immediately resurrected the second subject: Ares Intempium. Ares Intempium was Mephiles’ opposite: An intelligent, cunning and charming mind, with skill in Shadow Magic, but trapped as a weak spirit dependent on Fer’s lifeforce. Fer realised he had not failed in his goal to create the perfect undead, but had divided the two qualities he desired into separate creations. For three weeks the pair where isolated so they may get use to their new forms. In this period, much of Mephiles’ mind returned to normal, albeit now with a psychological compulsion to serve Fer without question. 'Tainting the Flesh' The trio relocated from the sanctum to a series of catacombs below Draynor Manor, where the pair of undead could retrain. Each was trained separately, with Mephiles learning Blood Magic and quarterstaff combat. At the end he was rewarded with Wightgrasp, the quarterstaff that Sephirot had created in the Second Age. It signified the beginning of his active service across Gilenior. The first of these missions was ambitious: The Assassination of Emperor Russia, whose occupation of Kandarin threatened to entrench Zamorakianism and jeopardise allies. Leaping from the parapets of the occupied White Knight Castle, Mephiles had underestimated his fragility as a Wight and tore ligaments when he cratered into the courtyard. Persevering, he would drain the life-force, or cut down, the occupying forces. When it came to Russia himself, the Emperor took advantage and made his ligaments the focus and gradually wore the wright down. Russia performed his coup d'état and dismembered Mephiles’ right arm with Wightgrasp still in it. Unable to defend himself, Mephiles then became impaled through the chest and sent into the moat to down. Despite being a Wight, he still depended on oxygen for his brain and blacked out. He awoke on a slab back at the catacombs, having been stitched back together and Wightgrasp leaning on the wall. As Fer entered he grovelled for forgiveness at his failure, instead receiving high praise from his master, who expected him to fail. Fer explained that he expected him to fail, so that he could tailor his further training to what was needed, along with additional praise for lasting much longer against the overwhelming odds that he had predicted. 'Family Affairs' Mephiles continued his training, both mentally and practically, within the woods behind Draynor Manor, whereby combining his skills in Hematomancy, Ecomancy and Necromancy developed into a new form of Carnismancy. This new technique to summon blood-sucking tendrils from the earth reinforced the potential that Fer hoped that Mephiles would be. Mephiles would apply them for the first time when Immortues was threatened by Ares' brother Mars Intempium, who sought to kill Fer. With a surprise assault on the manor, Mars utilised a strange power to interfere with the connection between Fer and Mephiles. Now under Mars’ control, he was commanded to attack Ares. However the duo where evenly balanced: Mephiles’ physical and magical attacks where phased through Ares’ incorporeal form, but Ares himself couldn’t inflict any real damage to Mephiles. It would take the intervention of Fer, who was still fending off Mars, to balance the scales into Ares’ favour, where Mephiles was forced back and locked into one of the catacomb’s cages. Compromised, Fer’ Ireth intended to return everyone to Uzer through an seldom-used route going through Morytania while relinquishing the manor house back to a resurgent Sicarius. However the plan was compromised from the start, with Mars attacking several times when they rested or diverted to investigate places of potential assets to the order. Mars’ final attack would be in Burg De Rott, where Mephiles entangled Mars with Carnismancy, and with the blessing of Fer and the distain of Ares, committed violent torture on Mars until relinquishing the fact that he was serving Fer’s brother, Firan’ Ireth. Firan desired revenge on his brother for betraying him and a millennia of imprisonment from it. Mephiles tortured Ares further to learn about how he had been tracking them. The trio would learn that Firan was operating from the Blood Altar, using the Abyss as Ares’ means of transportation to intersect their movements. Fer left immediately to confront Firan and left Mephiles, Ares and Mars behind with no instruction besides to rendezvous at the altar ruins. Ares pleaded with his counterpart to keep Mars, and in a rare moment of emotion, agreed and released Mars. The duo then rendezvoused with Fer. They stormed through the ruins to the Blood Altar, Fer was quicked incapacitated by a powerful snare that bypassed his artefacts protection. Leaving Mephiles and Ares weakened from a severed connection to their master, they confronted Firan and recovered Mars in a destructive battle. Mephiles took advantage of his energy conducting abilities, channelling runic energy from the Blood Altar into themselves to overcharge their spellcasting abilities. As Ares incapacitated Firan with repeated smashes into a pillar, Mephiles dragged Mars to a broken edge and forced his head down to drown him in the lake of blood. Ares’ beatings drew enough focus to release the snare and make Fer personally confront his brother. Standing proud for his triumphant creations conquering Firan’s and Mars, Fer ignored Firan’s pleas and dealt the killing blow through the eye socket. The trio continued on with additional help to carry Mars and Firan’ bodies, sailing across to the Kharidian Desert and back to Uzer. 'Crusaders' Ares and Mephiles resumed their duties for Fer once they returned to the Uzer Sanctuary. Meanwhile, the events involving Firan and Mars had attracted the attention of the Silver Temple: An extremist group of excommunicated Temple Knights. Working with the Zeiro Clan of the Wushanko Isles, they identified Fer as an ancient enemy of them both, an alliance was forged against the necromancer, with entire battalion of knights and Ronin deployed to attack Uzer and kill him. Unprepared for the strike, Ares and Mephiles where overwhelmed and made a tactical retreat into the upper chambers of the sanctum. Mephiles released and commanded hordes of zombies to blockade the entrances, buying precious time for Ares to warn Fer and prepare the inner sanctum defences. With the defences prepared Mephiles relinquished control and let the zombies get cut down, while he fled into the Inner Sanctum, where then the inner sanctum was sealed off by deadlocked mithril doors. Rushing around to gather various materials, Fer commanded Mephiles to cram as many books from Fer’s personal collection into the backpacks and satchels he could carry, while Ares was made to stand on the ritual circle they had been resurrected on. Fer hastidly channelled most of his lifeforce into Ares, then bound Mephiles’ energy connection from him to Ares so the pair no longer needed Fer to survive. Ares and Mephiles where then forcefuly teleported by Fer as explosions echoed from the Inner Sanctum corridors. The pair ended up thrown into the southern deserts near Menaphos. The pair would trek back into the night to the mesa that overlooked Uzer, observing the ruins aflame and temple encampments surrounding them. Mephiles assumed that Fer had perished and pressed on to find sanctuary in Misthalin. The journey was made by foot and sea, as now the pair had an unstable and limited power between them. The repercussions where unbalanced against Mephiles, who quickly began to deteriorate. Fearing he would die before they could establish a new sanctum, Ares took him to the Tower of Life so he could rejuvenate him with the well. 'The Frost' Spending weeks encased within the Tower of Life to ensure his physical form remained intact, Mephiles sought to test if he could still perform proficiently in combat, along with confronting the past that Fer had restrained him from. Mephiles returned to Daemonheim, disguised as another of the many explorers who his former people had invited to raid. Slightly torn between facing his demons alone, Mephiles agreed to assist a band of adventurers known as The Frost, led by Hawke Frost. Venturing deep, Mephiles and Hawke discussed various topics of magic between the carnage, with Hawke revealing his species’ abilities with water and ice magic. During the raid, Mephiles was paralysed in fear and the very creature that had slain him, World-gorger Shukarhazh, was guarding the exit. Hawke and his band however stoop firm, convincing him to stand up and face him with them. Agreeing, the team took on Shukarhazh and succeeded, with Mephiles himself dealing the killing blow by removing the Seeker’s main eye with a Gorgonite Rapier. Hawke was impressed, offering a place for Mephiles to train with them as a member of The Frost. Mephiles agreed, on the condition that Hawke teaches him Ice Magic. Agreeing to the terms, Mephiles would spend the next few months between the Frost’s constant Daemonheim raids and the Tower of Life. Hawke would be one of the few permitted to visit Mephiles at the tower and learn about the well. Mephiles’ alliance with the Frost culminated with a mission to recover a modified Arcane Steam Necklace from Daemonheim, which had been stolen by one of Bilrach’s servants who claimed to be a Necrolord. With it recovered, The Frost planned to return to Hawke’s homeworld, Asylum, and use the amulet to legitimise his claim to be king of one of the world’s many shifting kingdoms. Mephiles refused the offer to join them, but regardless, Hawke declared him a duke before he left. A few weeks later, Mephiles received a letter, learning that Hawke’s succession to the throne was successful, making Mephiles the Duke of the Nevermelt Isles on Asylum, though a proxy had been installed in his absence to maintain order. Mephiles would eventually convert the small castle he had gained though the Dukedom into a personal storage facility for experiments. 'The Final Drop of Blood' Mephiles was now without Fer's life-force for an extended period at this point; the necrotic disease that had resurrected him was almost absent from his body, replaced by the dependence on the Waters of Life. However, a dwindling supply from the well south of Ardounge and the failure to augment the properties into a renewable form left Mephiles in limbo between life and death. Mephiles however was determined to escape death again, gambling his life by infusing his remaining supply of the life-renewing in one burst to regenerate his lost magical and physical strength at the cost of a minuscule lifespan of just 4 days. Finally able to leave his tower, Mephiles traveled to what had been a place of interest following a recent earthquake: Guthix' resting place. Entering the newly consecrated temple was easy for the Lich: the Druids had disabled the remaining defenses and did not challenge anyone they though had pilgrimage to pay their respects to Guthix. Mephiles was exasperated by the sight of the dead god, unaware of the events that had unfolded for the world because of his confinement. He attempted to study Guthix's corpse to no avail, the druids intervening at every chance. But the solution was there. By the third day, Mephiles was decaying again, suffering from weakened bones and strained flesh. Knowing he didn't have much longer, only his faith to Zaros kept him going, praying that the Empty Lord would provide a cure for his impending fate. And he so did provide, for a small part of the great plan still would require Mephiles. The final day begun with a aftershock. The temple shuddered as flares of energy dispersed from Guthix's corpse and into the earth above them, bound for Lumbridge. However, as it did, fragments of green rained upon the small camp of pilgrims that had camped for the night, including Mephiles, who upon physical contact with the shards begun to draw energy from them. The energy was minute, but enough to power his body like the waters of life had done. Hoarding the shards from everyone throughout the morning had made the druid's suspensions grow to breaking point, demanding that he leave the temple. Several Druids were wounded in a skirmish before they backed off in fear, along with the pilgrims. Drained and at the brink, Mephiles quickly cobbled the shards together, crushing them up with a pestle and mortar into a fine powder. Poured into a vial of stale unicorn dust, snapdragon and rainwater, he consumed the mix in one swig. His dead organs contracted and rebounded into life, shocking his reviving body systems. The pure, unrestrained fragments of Guthix's godly powers was rejuvenating him at a unprecedented rate. Minutes past as the pain fluxed, Mephiles screeching in pain as he continued his self-resurrection. Then it stopped. Looking into the shattered glass of the vial, Mephiles visage was like that when Fer and Ares would revive him. Mephiles had found a way to sustain himself again. 'The Battle of Lumbridge' MephilesAtBOE.png|Mephiles, diguised as a Zamorakian, killing one of Saradomin's rouges. MephilesBOEDivineTear.png|Mephiles used Saradomin and Zamorak's battle to his advantage, harvesting Divine Tears for his own gain. MephilesBOLStare.png|Mephiles has concern for Saradomin's enpowerment following Zamorak's defeat. Following Mephiles’ renewed freedom and knowledge on the rejuvenating properties of Divine Power, he lusted for more of it. And ample opportunity arose when the God of Chaos, Zamorak, fell into open conflict with his old enemy, Saradomin, over an overflowing well of the deceased Guthix’s power. The Battle of Lumbridge posed the best opportunity and timing for Mephiles: A chance to hoard his own share of the power for himself, along with plenty of targets to regain his prowess in open battle. However, Mephiles was cautious: He was still much weaker than he was once was in his prime. Taking to open carnage would be a foolish gesture in his eyes. So he decided to take upon some of the old knowledge that his forsaken master and Ares had taught him: knowledge on how to disguise oneself as a mortal. Mephiles bleached and tightened his skin using simple herblore, before adorning the equipment of a Black Knight Initiate. Infiltration was simple: the call to arms from both sides was sudden and unexpected: there were no real lists of who was really a knight: So long as you respected the chain of command and wore the right colours, you where one with them. Over the weeks, Mephiles stormed the crater battlefield with a fury he had not felt since he was a true fremerrink, looting hoards of the green divine shards, then smuggling past the god’s force with trading caravans, which had been secretly infiltrated by his servants. During the nights, when the battles died down to their lowest bloodshed, Mephiles would sneak off back to his former prison, the Tower of Life, to experiment. Little was known about divine power, as it was mainly hoarded by the young gods, so days passed without any success to refine them into a usable power source. In desperation, he turned to scientific and research papers that had been flooding out of the Mages Guild and Wizard’s Tower. The work of one Ava Stormbrewer would be the key. Her theories on Divination would crack the puzzle around the shards. As he cracked the first few open, raw power erupted before him with dangerous force. The reaction between the open air was violent, dispersing the power contained. So Mephiles conducted an ingenious form of containment: the Well of Life, which already sprung with seemingly divine properties, was the perfect container. Mephiles would bathe in the well daily, which seeped Anima into his body, rejuvenating and empowering it. Necrotic flesh would be scrubbed apart into newborn skin and bone, while the vigour and undying will of youth returned in a blaze of blue and green. By the time Saradomin overpowered Zamorak, Mephiles was no longer afraid to hide. On the last day of battle, Mephiles openly emerged into direct combat, along with many others who flocked to salvage what they could until the gods met their climax. With body, mind and spirit rejuvenated, Mephiles initiated a small massacre upon both sides, all while hoarding the last scraps of divinity. Mephiles stood at the centre of it all, along with many others who participated, when Saradomin went for the killing blow. He knew dangerous times where coming, now that Saradomin believed himself victorious in the first battle of the Sixth Age. Regardless, Mephiles also considered The Battle of Lumbridge a success. But raw hate for his master had grown exponentially with the return to freedom: he felt now was the time to begin to move against Fer’ Ireth. 'The Bird and The Beast' With Bandos and Armadyl waging a bloody conflict across Misthalin and Asgarnia, Mephiles sought another opportunity to extract the life force of Guthix and the Anima Mundi from right under the Gods’ noses, setting out for Varrock. Ambushing a Armadylian caravan, being escorted by a human captain to Draynor Village, Mephiles slaughtered the diviners and stripped the captain of his armor, weapons and eyepatch. Combined with some herbal hair dyes that the Fremennik use and an transfiguration potion to tighten his undead skin, he created the persona of Captain Jova. The forces of Armadyl and Bandos had been summoned with haste, so no real records existed to confirm or expose the existence of Jova. Across the six weeks, Mephiles planted siphons on various caravans, which remotely stored wisps and energy in magical canisters, buried within the carpentry of the caravans. He would extract the canisters at nightly intervals, teleporting them back to his tower to be processed by Viza into the Well of Life. Mephiles remained absent during other events during the conflict, such as The Battle of Gunnarsgrunn, to not draw attention to himself. Following Bandos’ demise and Armadyl’s victory, Mephiles sought his opportunity and removed the canisters from the now abandoned caravans, along with any remaining wisps that were no longer required to fuel the Divine Focus. He also slaughtered an unfortunate highwayman from the local roads, dressing him up in Jova’s equipment and dying his hair, before igniting the body. Armadylian forces investigated, believing that Jova had been killed by Bandosian forces as revenge. Now residing within the Tower of Life, Mephiles has begun refining the potent mixture of the waters of life, the divine tears from the Battle of Lumbridge and the Wisps from the Armadylian-Bandosian Conflict. It’s unknown what Mephiles plans to do with the resulting power, other than to continue to fuel his life-force. Ares however has concerns that Mephiles intends to use the resulting mixture as a power source for ascendency, or a terrible weapon of mass destruction, being inspired by the Divine Focus and The Scarecrow. Race To Ascension While Mephiles was refining the divine mixture, Ares had manipulated a shaman in the Karamja jungle named Ivan, to hunt for the assailant of a local deity known as the Spirit of The Stars, who had mysteriously disappeared, leading to a swarm of undead attacking the local tribes. Disguised as a spellsword for hire, Ares was hired by Ivan, who also recruited a crossbowman, a exiled bandosian commander and along their journey, a polearm-wielding easterner. The journey led them to a crypt, where the Spirit of the Stars was rejuvenating itself with the aid of the daughter of one of Ivan’s old shaman friends. However, the group is ambushed by Sihrus, an old enemy of the Immortues order, who had targeted the Spirit of The Stars to allow his necromantic creations to conquer the local tribes. After a drawn out battle against several skeletal behemoths, Sihrus is defeated and seemingly destroyed by a rejuvenated Spirit of The Stars. However, Sihrus leaves behinds two powerful artifacts; a flawless diamond amulet and his wand. Ares abandons his disguise and telegrabs the amulet, which was one of Fer’ Ireth’s four artifacts. Within close proximity to Fer’s spellbook and cloak, both wielded by Ares, Fer returned in a semi-ethereal form, recruiting the easterner to his side, in return for the wand. He also attempted to recruit the bandosian, but fails to convince him and simply pays him for his service. The resurrection however is not left unnoticed, as Mephiles’ connection to Fer is restored with his former master’s return. A potent mixture of fear and anger by this revelation causes an imprint of Mephiles’ emotions to be absorbed by the collected wisps and felt by the local presence of the Anima Mundi, causing a vicious storm to batter southern Kandarin and East Ardounge. Mephiles accelerated his plans with the return of Fer, utilising newfound knowledge of the animating properties of the divine materials he had harvested to create the Necrovitalia Cognito: a twisted, immobile hive mind created from a strain of Gargoyle-consuming plant known as Canifis Gargovore. Housed and nurtured in the many abandoned catacomb complexes under the ruins of Senntisten, Necrovitalia Cognito breaded a new species of undead: Necroviles. Spawned as swarms of twitching blood veins, Necrovile spawn latch onto the recently deceased, reshaping them into one of the many castes of necrovile sub-species that Mephiles and Viza had conducted up. Packs of Bestia Necroviles, accompanied with the bat-winged Votalus Necroviles where the first batch to successfully enter service in the Mephiles Paradigm. Teneabre, Vitium, and Sano Necroviles later evolved independently to fill nieces in their primal society. Latched into the heart of the Cognito, Mephiles orchestrated a wave of terror in Gillenior’s underworld, with swarms of Necroviles being sent to eliminate several figures of power within the Kingdom of Kandarin. Necroviles were also used to terrorise major Divination sites, securing access for his Paradigm's followers undetected. Fer and Ares did encountered the Necroviles sometime during this period, leading to several battles across Asgarnia, but the duo were unaware that Mephiles was their master until the White Wolf Engagement, where a major trade blockade was sabotaged by the Kaledrake Militia; a mercenary clan consisting of dark wizards and spellswords from various kingdoms, then under the employment of Ares. Necrovile forces were routed and exposed when Viza intervene to organise a tactical retreat. While suffering heavy losses, Mephiles took advantage of the blockade’s effect to secure a major stockpile of divination energy, strengthening his emerging forces and his own divine reserve. the Kaledrake Militia also had their allegiance bought over by Mephiles in return for tuition in necromancy. The two forces became synonymous as Necrovile legions were incorporated into the militia, while the militia itself was usurped by Mephiles into his paradigm. Kaledrake forces enforced a occupation across the abandoned, battle-scarred wilds between East Ardougne and Yanhile, with the Khazard fortress being partially rebuilt as their new permanent headquarters. Raiding parties gained control of resisting settlements and kandarin patrols, providing a steady source of bodies and equipment for the Necroviles. The region was considered to be lost by the Ardoundge Government within a year, being referred by locals as the Fields of Toil. Exubitor Necroviles were developed as Mephiles delved into the darkest secrets he could decipher from the tomes he had saved from The Silver Temple, being appointed as the personal guard for himself, the Kaledrake clan leaders and the hive mind of the species. But the Excubitors were not Mephiles’ crowning achievement. Knowledge from the eldest worlds in the multiverse had traveled to Gilenior with the World Gate’s activation since the God Wars; including detailed legends of the powers that many Elder Artifacts wielded, particularly with the Staff of Armadyl. Though months of experimentation, calculations and close examinations, Mephiles was convinced he could pool the majority of his accumulated power into a single, false artifact. Such an artifact would not be able to kill a god, but would wield a terrifying, near endless pool of divine power that could be channeled into the wielder’s being. Mephiles considered a earth-shattering proposal: A strong, consistent reservoir of divine power that originated from the Elder Gods could be channeled through a false artifact to achieve ascendancy in the same way that the young gods had used Elder Artifacts and the execution of their peers, though to a lesser intensity. In short, Mephiles proposed he could become a demigod. Mephiles’s conclusion was timed well, as Fer’ Ireth and Ares launched targeted strikes at Kaledrake camps and resupply posts, including the converted Kaledrake fortress, to triangulate the source of the Necrovitalia Cognito. Now limited in time for the control of his undead forces, Mephiles acted swiftly to delay Immortues’ allies, along with Fer and Ares themselves, while he sourced a sutiple source of Elder Energy to fuel his ascension. Immortues’ former allies, including nobility in Ardounge, where assassinated bruitly in public under the guise that the two paradigms where still united. Retaliation from the Mages Guild and even the Guardians of Armadyl where used to stall Fer and Ares. Mephiles searched for weeks though the countless tales and legends etched into the multiverse’s history, increasingly paranoid over when Fer would overpower him either mentally or tactically. The paranoia Mephiles inflicted on himself had an indirect control on the stem, leading to the newer generations of Necroviles to be much more guarded of their surrounded. This ultimately exposed Mephiles to a crippling blow, with Fer identifying his paranoia though their insidious resurrection bond and tracing it back to the stem. The link however exposed Fer’s mind as well, unwittingly exposing a wealth of knowledge that Fer knew, but considered to be irreverent to his goals; including tales that the Majharrat had told of their homeworld and the Elder God, Mah. Including the Elder Halls. A stroke of genius stuck the wright, who realised that Mah’s divine power, which was a thousand times more potent than the well, whips and shards combined, would had manifested into wisps that could be shaped though standard divination; including into a new, divine body. A Simulacrum. The process he realised was fraught with perils; His undead form would be destroyed in the process, leaving him as a disembodied spirit for fleeting moments. He also could not predict what the Simulacrum would grant to a humanoid form; he could change species, be incompatible or even be beyond his control. He could also not attempt a second chance: the ritual was a one-way process The alternative was not prosperous either; Fer would regain control and complete his final act of unifying Mephiles and Ares into his catalyst for destroying death, which would compromise both mortals and gods alike. He had no choice. Mephiles enacted The Final Plan: the prelude to his final solution for Fer. As his enemies approached the Dig Site, Mephiles ordered his remaining Necroviles and Kaledrake forces to the fields beside Eagle’s Peek, while Mephiles, Viza and his independent Excubtor Necroviles would charge though the freshly-reopened World Gate and navigate to Freneskae’s Elder Halls. The Necroviles and Viza would mount a final defence at the Sanctum of Zaros, giving Mephiles the precious time to construct a Simulacrum. As the team passed through the gate unhindered, chaos ensued as the Necrovitalia Cognito was slain. The Necroviles turned into rabid, senseless creatures immediately, turning Eagle’s Peek into a chaotic hunting ground for both sides. Fer and Ares lead though the gate soon after, trailing Mephiles’ path following news of the chaos reaching Burthorpe. The duo strided though the chaos and entered the world gate to Freneskae. The ritual soon began, with Mephiles and a few still-lucid Necroviles harvesting Elder Energy in vast quantites, while Mephiles taped into the power of his False Artifacts to transmute their power into the raw simulacrum. The storms above Freneskae grew extremely violent from the tremendous energy surged, combining into a luminous pillar of cyan, purple and green that shot through the clouds, revealing Frenesake’s natural orange skies. Necroviles fell against Fer and Ares as they approach the Sanctum, where Viza was prepared. Armed with two bows, she ambushed the duo with an avalanche of volcanic tides, forcing them into the closed environment of the Sanctum. While effective in a more closed, reinforced environment that restricted her opponent’s devastating casting abilities, the mummy was forced further and further back into the chamber, eventually being cornered into the Nihil chamber. Disturbed by the commotion of the battle, startled Nihil swarmed the trio. Numbers fell, but Fer and Ares managed to reach higher ground. Viza perished in the final stand, overwhelmed by numbers, and was consumed. Mephiles' Ascendancy But Viza’s sacrifice was not in vain. The ritual was almost complete: all the energy from Gilenior was now ported into the ritual, and was now a matter of time as it was stabilised from the presence of the Anima Mundi well in the centre of the chamber. Mephiles waded in its power as his sworn enemies entered the halls. Fer and Mephiles, still bound with some degree of respect for another’s success in their fields, pleaded with the other to submit: Mephiles begging Fer to reconsider the implications of his final plan for not just Gilenior, but for all of creation. It was a futile effort however: the duo engrossed with their beliefs and ethics beyond the point of return. At an impasse, the battle begun. Mephiles immediately enveloped himself with an impenetrable spell shield, commanding his nearby Excubitor Necroiles to swarm, while also dodging flailing bursts from Wightgrasp. But soon Fer turn the tables, exposing The Amulet that projected the spell and shattering it with a concentrated burst of miasmic energy. Mephiles then attuned himself to the Anima well, commanding the wisps to dispel their energy into violent explosions at the duo, which also caused parts of the hall’s vaulted ceiling to crumble and fall atop them. However Ares was ingenior, batting them back to Mephiles, throwing him away from the Anima well. Enraged, Mephiles consumed the reserves of power he had left to gain superhuman speed and agility, sprinting like a lightning bolt around the chamber’s walls while also firing off divine energy charges to cloud their vision with ash. In the confusion, Mephiles bludgeoned Ares on the head with Wightgrasp, and took advantage by conjuring Tainted Magic tendrils to subdue him to the scorched earth. With his apprentice incapacitated, Fer and Mephiles entered blow upon blow with each other, both from magic and physical strikes from their staffs. Ancient Magic, curses, charms and raw power stuck against each other with fury and chaos without pause. However, Fer’s Arefacts again protected him from harm, and as Mephiles became exhausted, using magic to alter the gravity around the room. Mephiles was thrown around the volcano and its egg-chambers like a child’s ragdoll, haemorrhaging his last pints of the water from the Well of Life. His flesh failed to heal, leaving him broken in mid-air. A pause emerged in battle, the two exchanging a final glare. “Pax Decum.” Mephiles hissed ironically, just before Fer threw him the well to disintegrate. Mephiles hooked his only working hand onto the Simulacrum as he hollowly bellowed towards what seemed like oblivion. Upon contact with the Anima Mundi, his physical form ignited into green flame and putrid stench that even made Fer grimace with disgust. Fer stared mincingly as his famed creation seeming burned into eternity. Then the ground began to shake. Mephiles cackled manically, seemingly incorporeal. His physical form was finally destroyed, allowing his spirit to momentarily transcend into the nearby Simulacrum, which was immune to the destructive Anima Mundi well. He shot out, infused with the power that had been hidden away for eons, as a string of helixes power and shot towards his former master. Fer’s artefacts, which had protected him since the God Wars from mortal harm, finally subsumed to a stronger power. The cloak of protection and amulet of souls dissolved upon contact, while the staff cracked and withered. A single, bone-clawed hand emerged from the helix. Then another and another, tearing into Fer’s limbs like a knife to butter. Vicious goo and purple smoke seeped out from the wounds, while Fer contorted between pain, shock and disbelief on his face. A face emerged, cloaked in gold-trimed teal and purple robes. The face underneath was Mephiles, contorted into the estatisity of when he was alive. Eyes where bloodshot and emerald green, but emanated a cyan corona around the sockets. His skin was charred, almost hardened, but glistened in the pale light like crystal. Cracks soon emerged, revealing a faint aquamarine glow beneath. necromancer. Mephiles inflicted more torture onto Fer, clawing away at his flesh as his own grew back. He pulsed a major bust of divine power into his former master, causing Fer to drop his staff and the Tome of Knowledge. The pulse severed Fer’s connection to Ares, freeing him from the life-bond. Along with that, Mephiles destroyed the Tone of Knowledge by discarding it into the Anima Mundi. “It is over Fer.” Mephiles said into Fer’s ear, kneeling down to seize the tome of knowledge from Fer. He glanced silently at the book for a moment, before deciding against he was thinking. He slung the book underarm into the Anima Mundi, which dinstergrated it within seconds. A unknown power drew Wightgrasp to his reach and slid into a staff holster on Mephiles’ back. He turned to Ares, who now was possessed by his own anger and stood beside Fer. “My work here is done, old friend. I trust you will make the right decision?” Mephiles queried Ares, seemingly like nothing had happened between them. Ares just nodded, raising his staff. The crunch to Mephiles was both thrilling… and disappointing: he knew it was all over, but he expected more of a grandeur exit for the great Necrolord Fer ‘Ireth then a simple crunch of flesh upon bone within the abdomen. He though he had beaten any satisfaction away during the fight; his anger and hatred diminished. But something more now possessed him. Divinity; or at least a fragment of it. He was now a Tier 7 deity: a young demigod. Without warning, he clicked his fingers to teleport Ares away to the World Gate. And then he looked up. “What now?” Mephiles pondered to himself. “What now?”. Self-Exile Mephiles left Freneskae though the World Gate after hours of contemplation, but did not return to Gielinor. Confused and overwhelmed from recent events, Mephiles reprogrammed the gate to randomly send him across the multiverse. Mephiles explored many worlds and realms, including Infernus and Teragard, remaining anonymous to prevent the other Young Gods from discovering his existence. In this time Mephiles gained a loose understanding of his new powers and body, particularly with controlling the balance of light and dark energy within all beings. During this time Mephiles also transmuted Wightgrasp, his personal False Artifact, into a sleeker form. He also documented a rough map of the Mutiverse on Teragard papyrus. After three months of travel, Mephiles eventualy stumbled upon a chain of lifeless and shattered worlds. Upon enquiring local worlds, he learned about the devastating wake of Tuska and how she consumed entire worlds to sustain her hunger for Anima. Intrigued, he considered chasing Tuska and attempting some research on her power in an attempt understand his own. Pinpointing Tuska's wake on the Mutiverse Map, Mephiles shuddered as he realized that Tuska was on a direct collision course with Gilenior. Without thought, he begun the long journey across realms to return home and warn the population. The Battle for Gielinor Returning to Gilenor, Mephiles was shook upon learning that Tuska was in orbit of Gilenior, closing in day by day, while The Godless, Zamorakians, Armadylians and Saradominists banded together to mount a defense on Tuska's own back, hoping to launch a two-pronged plan; impaling Tuska with a Anima Spear with the aid of various adventurers and the World Guardian, while forces on Gilenior would launch assaults on Tuska's Airut and other followers, while establishing divine focuses to bombard Tuska. The presence of Tuska in orbit was enough to induce Divine Entropy; a principle of divination where a super-large divine being's presence would dilute the effect and power of lesser divine beings within a exponential''' radius. With Tuska being so large in comparison, Mephiles was being weakened from the surface of the planet even when Tuska was approximately half the distance between Gilenior and Zanaris. He knew his own forces where decimated and so decided to ally himself into the service of the four defense factions. The Armadyl faction where the only ones who accepted his help, being the most tolerant. Mephiles would also decide to hide his divine status from everyone unless required to do so, fearing retribution. As Tuska Fell, Mephiles felt the drain upon him by a true deity’s presence subside. However he was still weak, and now aware that the now Emboldened Godless would be on the prowl for another trophy. He would remain purposefully weaker for a few weeks, hiding with a couple of followers in self-exile upon a nearby world. Mephiles returned to Tuska’s corpse sometime after the Mazcab world window opened, craving to return to his former power. He impaled the beast’s corpse along one of the anima laylines upon her back with Wightgrasp, channelling anima into himself. However Mephiles was reckless, not bothering to scout the area, where some Godless scouts had made a camp upon her hind. An archer took a shot at Mephiles, which cracked though his right leg.Wounded, Mephiles lost his footing and slipped, causing Wightgrasp to scrape along the length of his torso while still conducting Anima. His simulacrum form was damaged during this. As ambushers charged, Mephiles fell back to Tuska’s spines before conducting an emergency teleport to Ardounge. Descent into Memories Following the botched usurping of power, Mephiles returned to the ruins of the Tower of Life that lied just outside Ardounge. It had been salvaged upon the locals following the revolution against the Mourners, leaving very little rubble left off the surface. So despite his wounded form, he called upon tainted roots and the gargovores that had survived within the wreckage to rebuild the surface as it was before. Upon stepping within, he found the sanctum as it had been left by Fer and Ares: Intact, but littered by the corpses of Necroviles that where either slain in combat or crushed by the tower’s rubble. The well itself was still frozen in ice, though it was clear that the duo had made an attempt to breach it. He struggled to chant the incarnation to dispel the enchanted ice, and clambered into the slush to repair himself urgently. Using what little strength he had in the waters, he produced a charm of regeneration from raw divine energy that put himself into a regenerative, comatose state. Days passed, of which during members of the Mephiles Paradigm slowly gathered back to what they considered their sanctum, and reconstructed the side chambers into research halls and dormitories. All the meanwhile, Mephiles’ mind reached out to a few at random, instilling voices in their heads as he instinctively attempted to latch onto the now shattered anima link he has with Fer: something not akin to a child going into a foetal position when scared. When Mephiles awoke naturaly from his coma and surfaced from the well, he found that 5 of the followers where there beside him, ready to act as his arms. This was extremely convenient when he had discovered that while he had regained his strength and ‘cauterised’ his self-inflicted wound, it had not healed as he had hoped. Mephiles made a terrifying revelation about Simulacrums: While they elevated one to a weak but divine status, they cannot reflect the key property of living flesh: healing. They can only be partially repaired at the most, and this takes both time and power. His form was now permanently damaged, making him more vulnerable to a killing blow from something like a Anima Spear. For a brief moment, he considered re-enacted the Ascension Ritual. But the idea was not viable: He did not have as nearly as much divine power in his reserves as before, and did not possess all his False Artifacts; save Wightgrasp. Energy like that was now in the public domain: any attempts to siphon large portions of it would only attract the attention of certain individuals: particularly the Young Gods. And so he turned to the five who now shared a part of him. They were all mages, skilled in some forms of magical combat. He called upon them to be his Emissaries: those who would act on his behalf while he remained at the Tower of Life. Particular, he ordered one to instigate chaos amongst the kingdom of Asgarnia, and another to seek out information to something known only as the “Fist of Guthix”: something mentioned cryptically in a few of the chronicles that he absorbed from the power he had acquired from Guthix’s demise. Intervention of The Godless Mephiles, anxious to secure his power reserves, decides to redeploy one of his Emissaries to recover one of his False Artefacts: The False Eye, which has somehow been relocated to Eagle’s Peek by yet unknown forces. However, while this Emissary would recover The False Eye, his emissary would be ambushed by Mark, The Hoardstalker and a band of Godless field agents. Mephiles bestows his Emissary with a slither of his own divine power, but it proves to be his undoing, as the powerful spells cast during the skirmish cause the cave to destabilise, crushing his own Emissary. Mephiles roared in fury within the Tower of Life at both the loss of one of his Emissaries and a False Artefact. He spent days confiding with the five remaining emissaries, who were deployed at various points of interest across the planet, on what retaliation was appropriate. The debate was fierce, with various methods proposed: from infiltration and sabotage, to extortion and even a proxy war. However the eventual consensus hinged on a single point: They had The False Eye, and that could not be tolerated. Unholy Reclamation Mephiles used a portion of his power to create an energy storm above the Godless Hall, disrupting the main portal as he teleports the Paradigm’s officers at the perimeter, who enturn begin to establish teleports for Necrovile forces. As the orb that contained it was escorted to the main chamber by The Hoardstalker and the order’s diviners, Mephiles’ orders the surprise attack on the outside perimeter with many Excubitor Guards to occupy and butcher the main guard, using the storm as cover. Rosaline however was by the main guards post with her children, and would escort them though the battle to the main portal, jerry-rigging it for moments to teleport them to safety on the surface. As the chaos unfolded, Emissary Kallig snuck into the keep and ambushed the attending members, allowing Mephiles, who was perched on one of the Keep’s towers with Excubitor Officer Karath, to remotely access the False Eye’s power of blurring the shadow realm and real world, allowing him to infiltrate the keep as a shadow that would attach to the Hoardstalker. Without warning, he would begin to suffocate him, before throwing him telepathically into the wooden panelling, knocking the Gojaro unconscious for the remainder of the siege. Mephiles himself then physically manifested himself, defending his Emissary from a Godless Demon by throwing him into the left side benches with a blast of divine energy, disabling him. Smirking behind his ornate helmet, he offered Dark and Lyam a chance of “redemption”; Surrender the False Eye to him, or they will die. Of course their answer was obvious. Lyam open fired at Mephiles with Seren crystal-tipped arrows, while Dark would slip into the shadows to strike the duo. Lyam’s attack however would backfire: With the arrows that struck Mephiles where simply absorbed into his simulacrum form, while The Shaman managed to grab the orb and break it open with one of the crystal-tipped arrows, being overwhelmed with Seren magic and divine energy. Mephiles grabs the ring from his Emissary, pushing him aside, greatly empowering himself as he slips the ring upon his gauntleted hand. He gains the ability to augment his own physical form, sprouting a pair of draconic wings. His strength, speed and divine potency also increase tenfold. As he absorbs the power, Emissary Kallig is overwhelmed and killed by Dark and Lyam. Mephiles quickly utilises his power to overwhelm his Godless opponents single-handily: By parrying a suddenly recovered Demon with Wightgrasp, and despite getting stabbed by an infernal blade and torched by demonfire, deeply wounds it by clawing it’s abdomen with a orb of divine power. He also attempts to impale Dark with Wightgrasp, as he attempts to flee into the Shadow Realm, by using the ring’s power to latch onto him. However Lyam saves him by detonating a rubidium and nitro-glycerine flask, blasting Mephiles into the left side benches, along with blasting a hole through the front-right tower. As Godless reinforcements began to flood in though the hall, Officer Karath storms down the stairwell and occupies them with a couple of Necroviles. Mephiles himself arises from the debris he was thrown into, wipes away the char from his face caused from the demonfire, and declares enough in a violent tone. He flaps his wings and ascends upwards, blasting a hole in the upper floors to the roof. His body and Wightgrasp pulse with Guthix’s stolen power, along with his own divine reserves, charging an orb of power approximately the size of the Stone of Jas, firing it into the air. The Orb flies up into the sky, detonating into a mass flurry of meteors charged with divine power, crashing all across the Godless Hall Island, tearing apart anything in a wide radius As the keep itself begins to be struck and begins to collapse around them, Dark and Lyam fall back to Rosaline, dragging along a wounded demon, the unconscious Hoardstalker and a small number of remaining guardsmen and women into a protective shield, before managing an emergency group teleport to Lumbridge castle. A drained Mephiles declares his victory on the Godless’ own podium, before teleporting away on his own to the Tower of Life, leaving Officer Karath to perish in the flames. As his forces retracted back to the Tower following the fall of the Godless Hall, Mephiles recharged his divine power and life reserves within the Well of Life, beginning to wonder how the Godless would now react in the now-impending war between the Paradigm and them. He also decided to transmute his draconic wings back into his body for the time being, finding them cumbersome. In the following days after the battle, Mephiles had a new set of unique battlemage armour crafted for him, wanting to dispose of the Zarosian livery in favour of a more unique design that reflected his heritage. Frigid Knowledge Mephiles soon learned that The Frostentome had returned to Gilenior in the North, with Freneskae being torn apart by Mah, deploying a small hive of Necroviles to secure the site until he could arrive, aware that the Godless where also hunting it. As Godless Strike Team Alpha arrived, the group was silenced soon by the growl of Necroviles, who had been protecting the area until their master arrived to claim the artefact. The Scopulus, unshaken, stormed off and fought off several of the creatures. During its fight the Rosaline implied abandoning the Scorplus, until it came back with several Necroviles impaled on its speared arm. Silencing the groups concerns, they marched deeper into the tundra. Upon crossing onto a series of beached icebergs, the group soon felt the unsettling aura they knew when they had the False Eye. But another pack had snuck up, pouncing over one of the snow drifts and past the Scopulus. The Godless engaged, with the Hoardstalker and Darkauro dealing with them in close combat; the former getting into a violent scrap with the Alpha. But the scrap had allowed the Alpha to howl, alerting an entire nesting ground that had been established to guard the area. The Hoardstalker, taking de-facto command, ordered everyone to higher ground on the solid drifts. The Scopulus defied, charging violently into the swarm and using his mass to divide the single swarm into smaller groups, who then suffered the full wrath of it swinging its rocky limbs around into them. As the Scoplus distracted them, along with protecting Rosaline from a side attack, The Hoardstalker carved a forward path though the hoards and to the edge of the iceberg, where the Artefact was encased within a huge mound of ice. The Hoardstalker, Dark, Ellone the Icyene, and Taylor all attempted to break the mound, with Taylor more worried about the safety of the book itself. Darkauro attempted to use Fire Blasts, but discovered quickly the ice was enchanted to deflect such attacks, and so let the Scopulus attempt to smash though. In the process, one of the Hoardstalker’s chakrams got embedded in the mound, before being shattered by the golem as it continued to bash the ice. As they begun to break into the air pocket that contained the False Artefact: A book, encased in ice, The Hoardstalker and the Scopulus where struck by a conetrated burst of Divine Energy. While the Scopulus’ mass only made him slide into a nearby ice sheet, the Hoardstalker was blasted over and into a snow bank above, cracking one of his horns as he landed, suffering a concussion. The Godless turned to face the direction the blast had come from, discovering Mephiles across on the opposite coastline. Shocked to discover he had come in lieu of one of his Emissaries, they scrambled to redraw their weapons. The Scopulus stomped out from the wall of ice, retaliating with a fury of rocky projectiles across to him. This howver was futile, as Mephiles transmuted his cloak into the Dragonic wings he had acquired from their previous encounter, using them to glide across to their side. While the Godless kept attempting to retrieve the book, Mephiles engaged the Scopulus. It was no match for therock entity, who was vastly underpowered against Mephiles’ enhanced strength and speed. Taunting the group, Mephiles claimed he knew where the Godless are keeping the False Cloak and the Visage. The Scoplius took avantage, uppercutting him enough to stun him and take a few steps back. After realigned his neck, Mephiles gets up and charges toward it, swinging Wightgrasp like a maul, and delivered a crippling blow that shattered the Scopulus’ arm and putting it to his knees. The Scopulus would look in shock seeing how it was defeated in two blows, aknologing his opponent’s divinity, before being delivered a quick killing blow. Horrified by the quick defeat of one of their most powerful allies, everyone apart from Darkauro began to retreat. Dark eventually chipped off enough off the opening to grab the Artefact, and attempted to run. Mephiles aimed Wightgrasp, about to fire an explosive blast at the retreating faction, only for Rosaline to surprise Mephiles by throwing a strange imp she had been concealing on her person, who blinded him as it latched onto his face. Frank, one of the strike team, would charge at the god, stabbing it on the back, only discovering that his simulacrum form was tough and reduced the impact of stab attacks. Surprisingly, Mark then suddenly stormed down the ice sheet, swinging the prototype god-slaying longsword. It penetrated further due to the augmentation, but it was still not effective. Tearing the imp off his face and throwing it to an icy death in the frigid waters, he stabbed Wightgrasp into the ground and charged divine power into the earth, pushing Frank and Mark away from him. Deciding they had no chance to defeat Mephiles alone, they began to retreat. But Mephiles enacted one of the new abilities he had gained by absorbing so much power, overriding Mark’s will and then throwing him to the ground. Mephiles glided again to where Mark has landed, cutting off the only route back to Relleka. Mephiles easily took Mark's body into a grip again, hovering him toward himself, with Wightgrasp ready to impale Mark. However Mark this time could control himself enough to cast a portal spell, which projected the spear end into Mephiles back, before splitting it in half as it shut close while still though the portal. Mephiles was in agony as Wightgrasp’s blade fully penetrated into his Simulacrum’s inner core, the wound protruding a cyan, gloopy mix of divine energy and water from the Well of Life. Mark gloated, taking the opportunity to stab him again with his augmented longsword, but only though the Armor. Mephiles quickly recomposed himself, sheathing away the aft section of Wightgrasp, now charging blasts by hand. Being slow to charge a teleport spell on time, Mark used his augmented longsword to block the attack, only for Mephiles to continue rapid firing off attacks towards Mark's failing blocks as it dwindling in charge. The Hoardstaker recomposed himself as well from his fall, leaping down and charging with his remaining chakram, only for Mephiles to simply grab the Hoarstalker by the throat, and throw him towards Mark, where, of course, was thrown to the ground with Mark together. Incapacitated, Mephiles painfully extracted the bladed half of Wightgrasp from his back, taking it like a blade and stabbing it clean though Mark’s right thigh, twisting it as it was extracted it to inflict maximum pain. Mephiles grabbed Mark’s throat, demanding him to tell where the extraction point for the group was, only to have his mother insulted. Putting Wightgrasp’s blade to his neck, he gave him a final chance for Mark to correct himself: He insulted his grandmother instead. Prepared to have his throat slit, Frank tackled Mephiles from the side. The pair scrambled across the snowy floor to The Hoardstalker, who summoned a Spirit Kyatt, and distributed the appropriate scrolls to the three to teleport them out. Wounded and enraged, Mephiles retreated to the Well and submerged himself to repair the damage to his Simulacrum form, along with re-joining Wightgrasp. He contemplated, as he sat into the Frozen Throne that had been constructed above the well, if he should reconsider his tactics. After tense deliberations with the remaining Emissaries, Mephiles agrees to accelerate a portion of his plans: Operation Spirit Siphon. Operation: Spirit Siphon Following the discovery that Mephiles has been using a Spirit Catalyst to transport into the Spirit Plane, The Hoardstalker has arranged for his Godless Strike Team to go to his homeland and disrupt the Paradigm's plans. Mephiles was fully aware of the compromised Spirit Siphon, as the Hoardstalker was secretly confronted by an Emissary who provided a half of the Amulet false artefact, while the Gorajo revealed he had the remaining half and tear core, and reunified them. Unmoved by this, the deity remained in the Well to connect up the rest of the Spirit Siphons. The Divine Alliance Using his sources, Mephiles discovered the existence of another of the Godless’ enemies, Sakuna. Intrigued of the knowledge of a being who displayed recent ascendency to godhood, the deity arrange a secluded meeting on the Island of Waiko. The two, loosely acquainted with each other’s operations in their respective lands though espionage, quickly turned the focus of their meeting to how the Godless where confronting their plans. Mephiles, intimidating Sakuna with the recent intelligence regarding their “Godslayer” project, concluded that an alliance against the Godless where in their interest, with Mark’s assassination being the highest priority. Sakuna agreed, on the condition that the assassination attempt was also used to capture a young girl being protected by the Godless, who was of great interest. With an agreement made, Sakuna revealed to Mephiles the existence of what appeared to be the Elder Horn, or a very convincing forgery. Ending their conversation, Mephiles hinted to Sakuna the true history of the object, before departing into the Shadow Realm. Sakuna later lures Mark to a secluded island in the Arc, as part of a staged exchange for Tyler: In reality, a dummy of Tyler was being used to stage two traps for Sakuna. However Mephiles apprirates from the shadows as Mark approaches to hand over Tyler, throwing Wightgrasp as a spear in an attempt to murder the Godless leader. The attack fails, prematurely detonating a series of “Divine Charges”: Explosives derived from divination energy. While the blast strikes everyone in the local vicinity, only Sakuna is killed in the explosion, leaving the supposedly Elder Horn to be thrown into the sea. This also causes the Kraken under Sakuna’s control to become hostile to everyone. Despite his visage and chestplate being damaged, Mephiles swiftly attempted to recover Wightgrasp; only to be countered by cannon bombardment by Darkauro and Vash in the nearby ship. Blasts are fired at everyone as they flee onto the boat, before Mephiles anchors the ship down with a continuous Abyssal field: preventing the ship and its crew from using any form of teleportation. The godless however counter by luring the Kraken to attack Mephiles with their cannon fire, forcing the deity to protect himself and kill the beast. By the time Mephiles turns to recover Wightgrasp, Darkauro has almost pulled the entire ship into the Shadow Realm. He however snipes a glancing blow onto Mark as he fades away, causing the godless leader’s augmented weapon to overload. Infuriated by the loss of the Elder Horn and his ruined armor, Mephiles took some comfort standing above the broken, calcified corpse of Sakuna and extracting her fading anima. And as he did, Mephiles’ simulacrum began to enter a new stage of metamorphosis. Anima Arcesso The Godless arrive at their makeshift laboratory for the False Artefacts, inside the lower Vorago Caves, following a dispatch of urgent recall orders sent by Mark. Rosaline also brings her two children, unable to find care for them in time. He soon divulges that their diviners have finished their work on the Artefacts. It is concluded that using the False Artefacts themselves as weapons are too dangerous, so Mark reveals he used their power and knowledge to synthesize four identical copies of his Anima Spear. But as he distributes the new Anima Spears with Dark, Frank and Rosaline, all light sources in the cavern are extinguished by an unknown force. The Hoardstalker is taken out by an unknown entity in the confusion: Missing as the group reignite light sources. Mephiles’ revealed himself in voice alone, hiding in the deep shadows casted in the now sealed cavern. Fearful for them, Rosaline asks Argen to seal her two children in a sphere of rock. Mephiles toys with his enemies with conversation and taunts, before revealing the bombshell that there is a traitor amongst them. Linold, one of Rosaline’s children, is sucked out of the orb though a short-range shadow rift and into the waiting hands of the Hoardstalker. The duo emerge from the shadows; the former with the latter’s blade to their neck. The Godless quickly are taught that Mephiles had replaced the real Hoardstalker ages ago with one of Rosaline’s old foes: Gephis'vros, and that also he had allowed Mephiles to sneak into the Godless Hall using his shadow as a gateway. Mephiles takes advantage of the situation, using Linold as hostage to prevent the Godless attacking as he emerges from shadow, then commanding her mother to surrender the Anima Spearhead she possesses to the avernic demon. Begrudgingly agreeing, the spearhead is slid across the room to him. Then upon Mephiles’ command, Gephis’vros slashes Linold neck with the Anima Spearhead, killing him in front of his own mother and younger sister. Horrified at the brutality that Mephiles expends on a close friend, Mark teleports away without warning. Lyam is also distraught, chasing Gephis’vros into the shadows in a vain attempt to capture him. Rosaline and her daughter go to mourn their loss, while the other engage Mephiles in a brutal brawl: Including Frank and Dark with their new Anima Spears. Chaos ensues, allowing Gephis’rvos to emerge after losing Lyam in the shadows, before using a Telesphere to teleport the Godlesses’ False Artefacts, and the Anima Spearhead, away to the Tower of Life. Gephis’rvos however failed to be aware of his surroundings, being ambushed by Argen and Dark. The duo ultimately kill the averic demon with a combination of Geomancy and Earth Wave. Mephiles holds off the others as Gephis’rvos is killed, until Dark successfully slices his face with the use of one of the Anima Spears, wounding him across the left side, which is then exacerbated further with a Fire Blast-tipped arrow. Infuriated, Mephiles charges up a similar blast to the one that destroyed the Godless Hall, firing it upon the roof of the great cavern. The blast alerts the attention of Vorago, who after being preoccupied with brave adventurers attempting to use the Maul of Omens on him, charges below to defend. Tthis ignites aquick and sudden retreat by all parties, using teleports. Mephiles returns triumphant to the Tower of Life, now back in possession of all the False Artefacts. The remaining Godless escape to Draynor Village: including a distraught Rosaline cradling her dead son. With the Godless second-in-command on the brink of insanity, the other four find themselves with severe injuries and low morale. Sometime after the event, Mephiles made a pilgrimage to the recently rediscovered Senntisten throne room, where Zamorak usurped Zaros using the Staff of Armadyl. Leaving shortly before excavation crew returned from their breaks, Mephiles extracted some samples from the crystal outcrops for study. Adopted Power sneaks into the Tower of Life and encounters Mephiles.]]Mephiles suddenly experiences a great surge of pain without warning within his tower, looking down to watch a fissure appear within the chest of his simulacrum, hemorrhaging power that immediately fades away into the aether. Severely weakened by the initial fissure, Mephiles retreats into the Well of Life for an emergency repair of the Simulacrum This attracts the attention of the new demonic deity, Faeyrin, who with little effort penetrates the abyss barrier protecting the well chamber to teleport directly in. Curious to detect another strong of source of divine power, she unwittingly approached the Well of Life and triggered the permafrost line enchantment and awakens Mephiles. Launching from the well, Mephiles is unamused with both with the discovery of another unknown deity and her apparent comical tone on the situation. But still damaged from the mysterious fissure, Mephiles only responds with activating the permafrost line in an attempt to freeze Faeyrin, to little success as she envelops herself in a dimensional veil to send the freezing droplets into the abyss, before following herself to escape. "Trace it." Mephiles spoke softly to the waters of the well. The waters of life slithered along the walls without a care to gravity, pooling around the spot Faeyrn had slid away though the Abyss, beginning to collect the faint traces of the intruder's background energy and pool them into his mind. Commenting that Faeyrin had made a sloppy exit to himself, Mephiles begins to trace her movements through the Abyss. Sliske's Endgame While processing it, Mephiles is requested by Grand Emissary Talos to appear upon the Tower of Life’s roof. Emerging with a disgruntled mood following the confrontation, Mephiles mind turn to awe as Zanaris begins to eclipse the sun. In the back of his mind thinking that the next few days would decide the fate of Gilenior’s major gods. Mephiles was struck with sharp and ecstatic pain across his Simulacrum days later, while submerged within a Well of Life which began to boil at the same time. Visions flooded his mind, chaotically depicting the destruction of the Stone of Jas by the Dragonkin and the awakening of the Elder Gods. They had been a result of Jas’s energy being dispersed through the well and violently reacting to the compatible simulacrum that the god inhabited. Exhausted and traumatised from the visions, Mephiles demanded the acceleration of the Shatterpoint Project at the cost of all other affairs. Necroviles and Emissaries withdraw from their current assignments across the world, bolstering the workforce back at the Tower of Life. Operation: Lengstorm Following the acquisition of The Star of Jaldraocht in a Mages’ Conclave auction, the Godless deciphered the markings on it and learned the location of the Asylum Vault on the icy world of Leng. Known to be a storage facility for Mephiles’ experiments, the Godless arrange an expedition and use the World Gate to reach the world.During the four day trip, several members of the expedition where killed by wild Voltalus Necroviles, which had thrived alone from the rest of their kind. Their camp was also set alight by an unknown figure who used a flaming spear. The following day the team made it to the remains of an icy fortress, discovering the real Hoardstalker. Following an aggressive fight over how they did not rescue him for two years, the Gorajo divulged how he had survived his imprisonment. Emissary Jullian had been assigned to the vault to guard the contents, including the Hoardstalker and extracted personality fragments, realising how Mephiles was turning into a chaotic tyrant and repented his allegiance. Subsequently releasing the Hoardstalker from restraint, he regretted to inform that any attempt for him to reach the World Gate back to Gilenior would be fatal due to his cold-blooded biology. The Hoardstalker therefore remained underground, working with Jullian to sabotage some of Mephiles’ progress in regards to timeline divination, while also refitting a set of primal armour for the Gorajo. Information soon was pieced together about the Shatterpoint Project, which the pair discovered to be a devastating machine that will grant Mephiles a new body at the expense of Arodunge being decimated. Determined to alert the Godless, Jullian had tricked Grand Emissary Talos to send the Star of Jaldraocht to them, under the pretence it would allow Mephiles to spy on them. Now able to return to Gilenior with the party’s additional supplies and support, Jullian bids farewell to the Hoardstalker by giving him the Miniaturised Divine Focus: a prototype god-slaying weapon that could be used against the mad god. Talos arrived a few hours later, knowing of Jullian’s betrayal from the triggering of a silent alarm when the focus was taken from its vault. Confessing in defiance, Jullian is killed and sent to be cannibalised into a Necrovile. Final Preparations With construction for The Connection nearing completion, Mephiles made one final trip to Freneskae to reaffirm the mathematics that would link it to Jas’ eggshell. The transition through the World Gate that would route him directly to the Elder Halls was disrupted and landed him on The Approach. Despite knowing the efficient route that the expedition he led years ago, the toxic environment was able to put strain on Mephiles and drove him to seek shelter. With luck he took shelter within The Sanctum that Zaros had constructed millennia ago, as well having its Memorian Device fully restored by the World Guardian. Mephiles took advantage of this while recovering and relived the memories of Zaros and Seren. Having recovered their memories, Mephiles also drew power from the Memorian crystals to restore the vigour that Freneskae had relieved him of. By the time he had absorbed all of Zaros’ crystals, he turned on the Seren ones, but they themselves began to force their energies upon him, which sparked upon contact as they neutralised against the dark energies that Mephiles had been revived with by Fer’ Ireth decades ago. Mephiles pondered on these properties, particularly the drawing between Zaros and Seren energies, has he continued the final approach to the Elder Halls, and where as planned he used mechanical tools and divination techniques to confirm that the alignment would work. With Freneskae’s storms receding he could teleport back through the World Gate to the Tower of Life. Freedom & Second Exile After months of unsuccessful attempts, Mephiles was in despair as he finally realised that Project Shatterpoint would not succeed before his simulacrum would undergo catastrophic failure. The self-proclaimed Aspect of Resurrection seemed to be facing a inevitable final demise. Pleading desperately to the spirit at the heart of the Well of Life for excessive infusions of more life-extending power, the deity was instead confronted with a horrific violation of his own mind, forcing him to conduct a command of supreme sacrifice. With a single click of his fingers, every single Necrovile and Emissary across the planet fell dead; their life-force connections immediately severed. Even Talos slumped to Mephiles’ boots, begging him to stop at her as she began to crumble, but to no avail. Mephiles could only weep in silence as he had to witness the love of his old life slip away in his hands helplessly once more. The Paradigm was decimated, and its leader left wallowing in a perpetual dread of vulnerability and loneliness. For the first time in a very long time, Mephiles’ humanity was back. Days after the destruction of the Paradigm, Mephiles’ received a hastily-scrawled letter from Rosaline Haines, pleading for an audience in Sophanem. Curious to see why one of his bitterest enemies would do such a thing, Mephiles went along and procured the strength to travel incognito. Arriving at the Sophanem side of the Elid Delta, Mephiles became frustrated as for hours there no sign of Rosaline. As the sun began to set and the cold descended on the plagued city, a stray black cat approached Mephiles, who was now sat down besides the riverside contemplating. Then it began to speak. Surprised at first, Mephiles had a rare moment of genuine laughter as he realised it was Ptolemy. Once humiliated, Rosaline explained that due to some unfortunate circumstances that her original body had perished, and that to evade being consumed by the Anima Mundi (because of her own tamperings with divine energy), she had transferred her soul into a cat. Her request to meet was to propose a trade for a new body, seeing as Mephiles had become proficient in that regard with his Simulacrums. Mephiles, while stating he could repurpose one of his simulacrums, was sceptical that she had anything of value to be worth such a trade. Rosaline sighed, pouncing onto his shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Mephiles’ eyes widened, turned to her and immediately agreed. With a swing of Wightgrasp, the pair were teleported back to the Well of Life chamber within the Tower of Life, and the preparations began to convert the Shatterpoint simulacrum to accept Rosaline’s soul. As the hours passed, the pair made conversation about recent events, before turning sour when Linold’s murder came up. Mephiles even confesses that he should have spared Linold, but that it wasn’t his call to make. Rosaline questioned him further to clarify who’s call it was, but was met with silence. After hours of work, Mephiles had completed the conversion of the shatterpoint simulacrum to accept her soul. Demanding his payment first, Rosaline hesitated and questioned why she should trust him. Mephiles said she couldn’t, but he needed the power from what she had for the process to be successful, and that she had no alternative to escaping her feline form if she backed out. Begrudgingly she submitted to the request, and began to induce a hairball that she spat onto the ground between them. The hairball however was bone dry and began to self-immolate into ash within moments, leaving behind the prize for Mephiles to pick up and claim. In his hand was a fragment of the Stone of Jas, no bigger than a pebble, salvaged from the ruins of Sliske’s labyrinth within the Heart of Gielinor. Taking the precious shard into his right palm, he grasped so tightly into it that the shard cracked his simulacrum and embedded itself into it. A tremendous surge of untainted Elder Energy flooded Mephiles’ simulacrum, purging all the power provided by the Well of Life and changing his cyan-veins to a orange hue. Falling to one knee for a second at the overwhelming effects, the spellcaster and the cat where knocked unaware when the well screeched out in fury. The true nature of the Well of Life revealed itself as a violent beast, lashing out with tendrils of scalding water towards the pair violently. Mephiles countered by projecting a energy field around the experimental area with his jas-infused hand, while proceeding with the transfer of essence between Rosaline Haines’ cat body and her new simulacrum. Straining to maintain focus between the increasing onslaught of the well, the process took several moments as she willed it into shape. As the simulacrum forming process completed itself, Mephiles could rebound his barrier against the well and push the waters momentary back, allowing the newly-reformed Rosaline Haines and Mephiles to sabotage the pumps critical to maintaining the stability of the tower’s plumbing system. The Tower of Life violently shook as it began to suffer cascading structural failures, while the well rose up and partially revealed what it truly was: Kuiviénen, a Anima Mundi Elemental. Knowing that despite possessing the shard he could not hold out against Kuiviénen’s influence, let alone the coplasing tower, the pair fled out of the chamber as a tsunami of scalding water energy chased after them, leaping down into the great Antechamber where Mephiles could teleport the pair out safety to the forests south of East Ardougne. As they tumbled into the grass, they could hear the death-throes of the great elemental though the sound of the Tower’s destruction, forever burying the Well of Life and her forbidden power. Mephiles felt relieved, explaining to Rosaline that Kuiviénen had been in his head the entire time he had used the well, ever since he and Ares first discovered it. Smiling, Rosaline pointed out that Mephiles himself looked almost human again. His skin had returned to flesh, with the infectious mineral deposits of Kuiviénen blown away as ash in the nighttime breeze. Freed at last, Mephiles felt a cascade of emotion and repentance for what he had committed, and knew he had to at least return to those he had wronged first: Ares and Fer. Thanking Rosaline for her gift, Mephiles departed for the World Gate and left for worlds unknown, for the time being. Alternate Timeline '''Dimension of Disaster Within the Dimension of Disaster timeline, with Zaros never arriving on Gilenior, Immortues is formed under Loarnab’s rule. Fer is also deceased before Year 170 of the Fifth Age, making Ares the Necrolord and preventing Mephiles being abandoned, subsequently never using the Well of Life, secede his own Paradigm and ascending to Godhood on Freneskae. Eventually, Ares sends a message to the Main Universe through the portal created by the Auto Docs and Dr.Fenkenbrain asking for assistance for the dwarven resistance. The call is answered by a small group of Godless including Lyam, Dark and Argen. The group are greeted by Mephiles, who is fighting off a group of Zemouregal’s zombies from breaking the eastern barricade. This Mephiles is treated with distrust throughout because of the Godless’ own experiences with the main universe Mephiles, but convinces them enough to hear his plea. Explaining that the resistances is on it’s knees from dwindling supplies with their last route through Trollheim cut off. The group suggest utilising lodestones and runes for teleportation, only to discover that in this universe that the lodestone network does not exist, as the Wizard’s Tower being never rebuilt and the loss of runecrafting knowledge causing almost all runes made by Guthix to have been exhausted. They suggest that the Gnomes may be able to help with some kind of airborne support. Desperately, the Godless and Mephiles fight through Troll-infested Taverley and the Ice Queen’s mountain kingdom to the Gnome Resistance in New Arposandra to see how they could help. They carefuly negotiate a deal to purchase a series of cargo-adapted, human-sized gliders, while also setting up a series of Braziers in resistance pockets and safe settlements, such to create a glider route to airdrop supplies to the dwarfs. Happy to help, the Godless prepared to depart back to their own universe. Mephiles offers to come with them to assist them in return, but is dissuaded both by the dwarven resistance and Ares. The Godless also explain they cannot due to their own Mephiles and divulge what they know about how he became a god and his terrible acts. Ares, fearful of now what Mephiles could be capable as the resistance experiments with godly constructs, backstabs Mephiles and deanimates him back into a corpse as their visitors depart back home. Personality As a result of his exile, enslavement and abandonment, Mephiles is a cold individual with sociopathic tendencies. Most notably, prior to his Ascension, he sacrificed all but a handful of the Necrovile species to simply buy a few minutes of time. His motivations and plans are utterly personal and he rarely takes the living cost into account, being able to murder scores without remorse or hesitation. However, Mephiles is not completely heartless; He was a loving member of his adoptive family before, and had what can be assumed to be a loving relationship with Elise while a member of the Lunar Clan. Before ascension, Mephiles was a contrast to what he is now. He was a fearsome warrior, and full of life and shared an almost brotherly friendship with Ares Interptum. However, when Ares betrays Mephiles by deceiving him to restore Fer ‘Ireth to full power, declaring that he “Was a failed experiment”, Mephiles vows to utterly destroy them both. Unfortunately, after repeated betrayals and mishaps during his time as a undead servent, Mephiles’ worldview became increasingly cynical and nihilistic. He decided to use the new Paradigm to eliminate the stigma behind all forms of magic by force and fear, and in doing so making a better world by preventing others from repeating his tragic past. In his new role as the leader of the Paradigm, Mephiles pursued his goal of spreading his influence and terror then Fer ‘Ireth ever did, even converting his dead enemies into Necrovile Excubiors to reveal their secrets beyond death. Physiology Mephiles’ physical form is the result of the imperfect ritual that transferred his consciousness and soul into a Divine Simulacrum, though the dying Anima Mundi of Freneskae in a ritual that was disturbed by his former master and apprentice. The result was a humanoid construct of clastic rock: pale imitation when compared to Mah’s various children. The Simulacrum composition of clastic rock comprises of a mix of common mineral elements found on Freneskae, bonded together within a matrix of low grade silica crystals, which also function as a interweaved divine power transmission network. The internal structures of the simulacrum recreate human anatomy though much purer silica crystals, which is saturated in concentrated anima. The distribution of anima though this system can be tracked though the colour it radiates, with concentrations in shades of cyan, while the strongest pockets within the ‘heart’ and ‘brain’ pulsate a bright green. Constructed to resemble Mephiles’ original body before his resurrection, the facial structure shows a structure similar to that of a corpse’s tightening skin around a young, athletic skeleton, which is exaggerated with the smokey colouring of the coarse ‘skin’ that buckles with subtle cracks from motion wear and containing the divine power. Mephiles’ eyes demonstrate the imperfection of the simulacrum, as the aggressively tired eyes are beset with deep fractures, pulsating an ominous cyan light from the internal containment. While these defining features are fixed features, Mephiles can transmogrify some common facial features to a personal preference: using it to lengthen his sandstone-like hair and grow a beard after the Destruction of the Godless Halls. In terms of physical capability, the Simulacrum body is incredibly resilient in many aspects. It cannot biologically age, contract mortal diseases and would take tens of thousands of years before would begin to suffer from erosion. The clastic rock provides steady integrity and a hefty mass, providing Mephiles with an inhuman resistance to blunt physical blows and the raw strength to demolish a Scopulus at maximum capacity. However these are also a double-edged sword: The dense mass of the clastic rock is several times heavier than the average man, which can turn weight-sensitive platforms into a hazard. It is also not impervious to all physical forms of attack, as precise slashing strikes can take advantage of natural fracture points and gravely damage the ‘skin’, to the point that Mephiles would begin to bleed out gaseous divine energy alongside its liquid form, akin to mortal blood. Such breaches have to be repaired through a transfusion of power from the Well of Life, before they detrimentally weaken both the Simulacrum and his divine power reserves. If not, it is theoretically possible for him to ‘bleed’ to death within a few hours. It should be also noted that due to the crystallized structure of the simulacrum, it is affected by the same draining effects inflicted on Dreams of Mah from the abyss-piercing Ritual Marker on Freneskae. Divinity Mephiles contains a sizable reserve of his divine power within the Simulacrum, granting him an extensive range of powers, for a borderline Tier 6 God. Mephiles’ does wields the ‘standard’ abilities of a lesser god, such as not requiring the use of Runestones to cast Magic, limited transmutation and height modification; though the latter is seldom used as it apparently interferes with his sense of balance. Alongside this, Mephiles has demonstrated his ability to bestow portions of his divinity upon his Emissaries, infusing them with a temporary source of infinite runic energy and an enhanced casting prowess. Such transfusions transcend distance and even across plains, but put a increase strain. More notably, Mephiles’ main use of this power is the casting of devastating Divine Cataclysms, where he can concentrate his reserves of power into a single burst of unstoppable force. Once fully formed, these blasts can either be fired as a single explosive or divided up into thousands of explosive energy bolts across a wide area. Implied in the naming, such an attack is cataclysmic in scale and destructive force, being able to level an entire castle and the surrounding area (as demonstrated during the Destruction of the Godless Hall). Cataclysms however require intense concentration to build up, leaving Mephiles vulnerable to attack, where it could backfire upon him. Even if it does exceed, Mephiles is left in an exposed position with little physical strength or magical aptitude, and such oftens make him immediately retreat after use to replenish his power using the Well of Life. Combat Skill Mephiles’ was resurrected and moulded by Fer to be an extremely proficient killer, as part of the studies conducted by the Immortues leader into understanding the physical vessel’s properties and limitations. As a wight, he began with some skill with the use of swords and daggers from his time within Daemonheim, but preferring to use his natural affinity with magic on the standard spellbook. Fer, seeing that Mephiles was dependent on regular life-force to remain competitive, taught him to use Hematomancy (Blood Magic) to replenish himself. Mephiles however ignored his master’s intended use of the art, utilising Hematomancy mainly as an offensive technique, contorting any available supplies into either projectiles that can drill into opponents to inflict open wounds, before taking advantage of said wounds to tear the enemy open. If such opening are not available, Mephiles can also attempt to drown them: telekinetically forcing the blood down an enemy’s throat. As a wight he could get an available supply to conduct Hematomacy by drawing the blood from his own form, but this is no longer possible as a god and now must depend on blood drawn from other nearby creatures, alive or slain. As he continued to serve Immortues, Mephiles became proficient in using staffs as a melee weapon and was quite meticulous in the choice of staff he used, preferring to use those who had sharp points and implements attached to their ends, as so to be able to use them for wide-aiming chops and lunges against unsuspecting enemies and make them vulnerable to Hematomancy. This preference was one of the reasons why Mephiles adopted the use of Wightgrasp and continues to wield it as his iconic weapon. The two arts combined, along with several years of accelerated training against both undead and living opponents, have made Mephiles into a master of a unique martial art, which continued to evolve as he rebelled from Master Fer. Mephiles adapted elements he understood from Ares’ mastery over Cryomancy (Ice Magic) to chill blood under his control, often either to inflict rapid frostbite or lock up limbs: either method is excruciatingly painful for the victim. His own knowledge of Lunar Magic was also corrupted though Hematomancy, being weaponised into Carnismancy: The art of generating tendrils from coagulated blood. Carnismancy for Mephiles was used exclusively to bind more agile opponents in place, though in a few occasions has demonstrated the art as a form of torture to extract information. Now as a lesser diety, Mephiles extensively used the raw divine energy he possesses as the main magical offensive in his arsenal, manufacturing it into bolts, beams and charges of lightning at a whim: the latter can also be used to give a weapon limited charges to shock an opponent upon contact. Such power can also be transmuted into temporary shielding, allowing him to weaken incoming projectiles or annihilate weaker ones altogether. In an extreme case he can also make this shielding permanent to avoid repeated intensive assault, though the concentration required to do so will immobilize him. The main strategy during combat is to lure the enemy into a false sense of security, starting with focusing to kill opponents from a distance using magical projectiles. Then as they approach, convent quickly to use Wightgrasp for rapid bludgeoning against an opponent expecting little physical resistance. Focusing on the nearest target alone, Mephiles then can dominate the unprepared opponent, aiming to stab or slash the opponent with the sharp edges of Wightgrasp and let them bleed out, allowing Hematomancy to be utilised. Rince and Repeat until all targets are eliminated. In more tactual situations where the enemy may possess the hindsight of knowing this, Mephiles instead goes for differentiating the opponent through successions of fast charges, either striking for low bludgeons to the torso and legs, twirl Wightgrasp and fire off rapid bolts of energy at close range to burn them, or to quickly open a wound and bind them with Carnismancy. He can also take advantage of his Simulacrum to grow in size to shake off opponents and directly strike them. Both strategies however suffer from the same core weakness: Mephiles’ martial skills are dependent on having open space and free movement, therefore containing the deity in confined quarters or binding his movements will quickly put him on the defensive, allowing groups to swarm and continuously strike. His simulacrum may be resistant, but will crumble under the constant weight of repetitive blows. Ideology Main Article: Mephiles Paradigm While the Emissaries and allies of the Paradigm refer to their god as the “Master of Rejuvenation” because of his Necromantic connections, Mephiles prefers the lesser known “Immortal Scollar”: A codename used by his secretive allies. Although it is often said, especially by the Godless Faction, that Mephiles simply seeks to gain more power to preserve himself, he considers himself the antithesis of morality; his teachings state that the ignorance of mortals has bred irrational hatred from a lack of understanding, justified under the banner of Morality, and that it now erodes society though the rejection of understanding and intelligence. Mephiles preaches that mortals should believe that ‘the ends always justify the means’, with mortality replaced with absolute study and reeducation, with those who continue to reject be eliminated. Mephiles supports his arguments by referring to the Fremerink, on how those who rejected the use of Magic and Runecrafting has left them behind as mere nomads, while the Lunar Clan and the other human kingdoms has prospered. He personally believes that if they had embraced Magic the Fremennik could have become a great empire spanning much of Northern Gilenior. Although he has been demonstrated to be violent in obtaining his interests, he opposes pointless violence and believes that if he could he would attempt to introduce his dogma through peaceful means. This is not to say he will abstain from committing mass genocide if it would serve his goals, or to commit acts that would be considered an abomination, as was evident with the creation of the Necroviles though the desecration of nature and thousands of deceased mortals, as a way to create an army to rival Immortues’s undead armada. He has shown indifference to many of his Emissaries, who are amongst the few who faithfully sworn to his cause, seeing them as the best means for his agenda and nothing more, though he has also confided trust in a close few such as Grand Emissary Talos and Emissary Julian, who both have unrestricted access to his own extracted memories, with the former also granted access to the Well of Life. With the selection of allies, Mephiles carefully picks them on a few parameters, including wealth, political or military influence and likelihood of cohesion and betrayal. He has also displayed that despite his personal distaste for former master Fer, he does not dismiss his research and the reasons behind it, stating that if he could find solutions for the consequences it would create he would consider continuing it. It should be noted that what little is known about Mephiles in the 6th Age comes in mostly rumors and word of mouth, reflecting the views of the Godless Faction and the violent enforcement of his agenda whenever it spills into the public domain. As Mephiles is considered the arch-nemesis of the Godless Faction at this current period of time, they publish propaganda that is negatively biased against him. Most devout followers of Mephiles are often indoctrinated and brainwashed to some degree, leaving their perspective of their deity greatly skewed, while the remainder follow to simply increase their own power and understanding of the world around them. Outsiders often portray Mephiles as an “abomination” because of his actions; with less-informed mortals claiming that Mephiles was created by Zamorak to incite chaos. Zarosians however view Mephiles as a rogue element in their lord’s Great Plan, who needs to be tamed and be given a greater purpose. Gallery Mephiles Armadyl Absorption.png|Mephiles steals divination energy from Armadyl's tower. MephilesPortalFiltered.png|Mephiles, about to enter the World Gate during the Dark Schism. PrivateLukeDisguiseBody.png|Mephiles, disguised as a Zamorakian foot soldier during the Battle of Lumbridge. Mephiles Sketch Phone.jpg|Artist sketch of Mephiles, post-ascension. Trivia Naming & History *The name Mephiles derives from Mephistopheles, a demon that first appeared featured in the german Faust legend. This is a sly nod to how the Fremennik are derived from the Vikings, which have close ties to the germanic people. **The name was confirmed to be taken from Mephiles the Dark, the primary antagionist from Sonic The Hedgehog (2006). *The surname of Sol is incorrect, since Fremennik use the titles of their relatives, professions or feats instead of surnames (if the Fremennik take a similar naming style from Viking culture). A in-game explanation is given by Mephiles to Ares during the original saga, stating that his handwriting made the word Son look like Sol, eventually adopting the surname over time. *Mephiles’ birth name or place of origin was not revealed until two years after his inception, being a running joke since it wasn't revealed until Void Adept completed The Fremennik Trials. **Conveniently, Mephiles’ death wasn't even revealed until Dungeoneering was released, one year after his name and birth. Before that time, Mephiles refused to talk about the subject with anyone. Species & Limitations *Mephiles’ was reanimated as a Wight, like the Barrows Brothers. **Mephiles' is commonly misinterpreted as a Lich, Zombie or a Ghoul. These are all incorrect. While Mephiles wields powerful magic and a has a immense will to escape death, he did not resurrect himself and has a fleshy form. Mephiles’ intelligence and combat ability would also rule him out as a zombie. Mephiles resembles a Ghoul the most, but does not crave human flesh, instead consuming life force from a necromancer or objects of great power, such as Divine Tears. *Another misconception about Mephiles is that he could not feel pain. This is partly incorrect. Mephiles has a greater tolerance to pain due to his decaying nervous system, but this regenerates as he absorbs life force, and degenerates when he consumes in by the use of magic, physical combat and over time. *Mephiles is affected by the blessing of the River Salve, making him unable to enter or leave Morytania without the use of teleportation. Other *A retconned and scrapped storyline from the 2008 season involved Mephiles entangled with a future version of himself and his successor as the Immortues Dux, Ilana, over the future disappearance of Ares in a few months time. The storyline would have concluded on the revelation that Ares’ disappearance was organised by a second version of Mephiles, from a farther and devastated future, to lure his previous versions and advert his fate by exterminating the Immortues order, being defeated in the process by Illana’s sacrifice, erasing the alternative timeline and preventing these events in the first place. It’s unknown if Ilana will return in a future, canon adventure. *Mephiles' brother, Balkor, was shortly roleplayed as a minor role in a Void Knights RP as a new squire. The only reference that Balkor made to Mephiles was over why he was treated unfairly by Peer The Seer during his trials. Balkor was fatality wounded duing an ambush of pests on the Void Knight ship, The Bowsword' ', just weeks after arriving. He died and was buried at sea one week later. 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